Inspection

School inspections have become a crucial yet highly pressurised part of primary school life. We offer a range of guidance and case studies, including accounts of inspection visits and successful outcomes, to help you survive and thrive under school inspection.

The consultation over Ofsted’s draft Education Inspection Framework is almost at an end. With its new focus on curriculum breadth and balance and with the chief inspector speaking out against teaching to the test, the framework has been broadly welcomed. What are the key talking points?

No school accountability system is perfect, but will mooted changes to inspection in England tackle some of the unintended consequences that school leaders face? Hilary Grayson draws some lessons from international practice

After years of prioritising outcomes and data, Ofsted has signalled a change in focus. It comes after the NAHT’s landmark report into accountability. So what can we expect come September 2019 and will it really be an improvement?

Last November, Christ Church CE School was judged outstanding across all areas. Emma Lee-Potter looks at the school’s vision and values, the key aspects of their practice and their advice regarding Ofsted inspection

With the momentum growing behind evidence and research-based teaching practice, arguments to give back control of the curriculum to the profession are becoming louder – led, perhaps surprisingly, by Ofsted’s chief inspector...

In 2019, the Ofsted inspection framework will change. As speculation grows, we look for clues, including from the new IDSR, Amanda Spielman’s testimony to the Education Select Committee, and Ofsted’s annual report...

Bold or premature? Ofsted’s small-scale report into the Reception curriculum has alarmed many with its dismissal of softer skills and focus on quick starts and rapid progress. Suzanne O’Connell reports

In the final part of his before, during and after series on school inspection, Anthony David reflects on how school leaders can often find themselves facing a low or feeling depressed after the inspectors have left...

With both of his schools having faced inspection recently, headteacher Anthony David offers his advice on preparing for inspection, handling the inspection itself, and the aftermath. In the second article in this series, he focuses on the inspection itself and what to expect after receiving the ...

The Ofsted framework looks set to remain the same over the next two years, but inspection reports are already showing a change in focus by inspectors. As the new school year begins, we summarise some of the key concerns and lessons to be learnt from schools’ most recent reports

With both of his schools having faced inspection last year, headteacher Anthony David will, in this three part series, offer his advice on effectively handling the preparations, the inspection itself, and the aftermath. He begins with how to prepare for Ofsted...

As the new HMCI settles into her Ofsted role, Suzanne O’Connell considers the legacy of the role of chief inspector and what the first indications suggest about Amanda Spielman’s leadership and education priorities

The Common Inspection Framework is now in its second term of operation. Inspections expert Elaine Long gives a useful overview of the key requirements and duties that schools and their leadership teams should be on top of

We have seen it on paper, but what does the new CIF – the Common Inspection Framework – mean in practice? Suzanne O’Connell speaks to Steve Barrand about his experiences of an Ofsted inspection in September 2015

The new Common Inspection Framework has been heralded as introducing a new era for inspection. Is it really a common approach uniting educational settings or more a case of divide and rule? Headteacher Update takes a look

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Headteacher Update is the only magazine delivered directly to every primary school headteacher in the UK.
It is published six times a year, at the beginning of each term and half-term, to keep headteachers up-to-date with
everything going on in primary education.